DUE Neopixel

Neopixel

These addressable (smart) LEDs are very common. Using a single pin, hundreds of LEDs can be set to any color. Those smart LEDs have a small processor (WS2812) built inside of them. An incoming digital signal sets each LED to a specific color. This way, several LEDs can be controlled using a single pin.

When the user sets the color to one the connected LED, BrainPad holds the color state for each LED in its internal memory.

NeoClear() # clear all pixels (in memory)
NeoSet(1,255,0,0) # set second LED to full red

When ready, all LEDs can be updated at one using NeoShow(). This function needs to know how many LED to update.

NeoShow(1, 8) # Updates the 8 connected LEDs on pin 1

To determine the color value, use search the web for “Color picker” and use the hex value. Note that the websites use # to mark a hex value, but in coding we typically use 0x.

BrainStorm

How small can a processor be? We are now talking about a processor that is smaller than an ant! Here is a fun fact, a processor is usually smaller than the packaging around it. The packaging is made larger so it can be handled easier.